Women and Leadership Archives Summer Reading List

Buildings_Piper_Hall_Library-2

A Mundelein College student picking out books from the library in Piper Hall.

We at the Women and Leadership Archives love summer reading.  If you’re like us, see below for a summer reading list inspired by the WLA’s collections!

For the movie-goersAll the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren. This Pulitzer Prize winning novel tells the story of southern lawyer Willie Stark and his transformation from an idealistic man of the people to a corrupt politician who pays a high price in his pursuit of power. This loosely fictionalized account of Governor Huey Long of Louisiana boasts two movie adaptations. The first, released in 1949, features actress Mercedes McCambridge—whose personal papers are held in the Women and Leadership Archives! In her collection there is an original script of the film, movie stills, and newspaper clippings describing her Oscar-award winning performance as Sadie Burke.

Collections: Mercedes McCambridge Papers

For the time-travelersMundelein Voices: The Women’s College Experience edited by Anne M. Harrington and Prudence Moylan.

Founded in 1929 by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mundelein College offered its all-female student body a comprehensive and rigorous Catholic liberal arts education. But Mundelein College, despite being run by nuns, had its share of hijinks! Readers can fully immerse themselves into the goings-on of the student body, and see what it was really like to be a Mundelein student, by reading this anthology of essays. I highly recommend the chapter by Joan Frances Crowley, B.V.M on her eight-year tenure as the director (then dean) of residence life. Anyone that has lived in a dorm will appreciate Crowley’s retelling of what it was like to live on-campus during the 1960s.

Collections: Mundelein College Collection

Joan Frances Crowley, B.V.M Papers

For the thrill-seekersRed Spy Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth Bentley by Kathryn S. Olmstead

Fans of John Le Carré (of Tinker Tailor Solder Spy fame) will love the fascinating life story of Communist Party and Soviet Union defector Elizabeth Bentley—called the “Red Spy Queen” by tabloids and newspapers in the late 1940s. Interestingly enough, Elizabeth Bentley actually worked as a professor of Political Science at Mundelin College from 1949-1950. Imagine having a spy for a teacher!

Collections: Mundelein College Collection

Marjorie Rowbottom Frisbee Papers

For my fellow feministsTidal Wave: How Women Changed America at Century’s End by Sara M. Evans

Historian Sara Evans is an authority on the subject of women’s history and their continued journey to equality. Her first book Born for Liberty (1989) is a comprehensive look at the history of women from the sixteenth century to modern times. In Tidal Wave, Evans establishes the essential foundation necessary to introduce readers to the histories of second and third wave feminism and their lasting importance to the present day. The Women and Leadership Archives holds numerous records of artists, academics, women’s groups, and writers that can add additional context to this groundbreaking time in women’s history.

Collections:  Feminism in Chicago: Connie Kiosse

Feminist Forum Records

SisterSerpents Records

For the scientistsHeadstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World by Rachel Swaby

This quick colorful book is for anyone who is curious about women’s contributions to the sciences. Divided into disciplines, this encyclopedic book provides brief entries about notable female doctors, biologists, environmentalists, mathematicians, astronomers, inventors; the list goes on and on! When you’re done, feel free to check out some of the WLA’s collections about women scientists

Collections: Mundelein College Collection—Sister Therese Langerbeck Files

Miram P Cooney, CSC., Papers

Alice Bourke Hayes, PhD., Papers

Katherine DeLage Taft

For the mischief-makersThe Trouble with Angels by Jane Trahey

Originally entitled Life with Mother Superior, this fictionalized memoir by Mundelein Alumnae Jane Trahey describes the shenanigans of two rebellious young women attending a Catholic all girls boarding school. The book was made into a feature film in 1966 starring Hayley Mills as the main troublemaker Mary Clancy and Rosalind Russell as the domineering Mother Superior. If you can get your hands on this book (it’s out of print), you’re in for a light-hearted, nostalgic comedy perfect for laying out pool-side.

Collections: Mundelein College Collection – Jane Trahey Files

For the hopeless romanticsLetters from Home – Kristina McMorris

Sometimes all you want from a good summer read is a juicy historical romance novel. Based in Chicago during World War II, this love story highlights a couple whose only way to communicate with one another is through letters. To add a Shakespearean twist, the main character, Liz Stephens, falls in love with her pen pal while pretending to be someone else! If love letters are your thing, come in and look at the Mollie Leiber West Collection. The WLA holds scores of letters from Mollie to her husband Carl Leiber when they were separated by WWII. Their own tragic love story is not unlike one you would read in an especially romantic novel!

Collections: Mollie Leiber West Papers


Ellen is a Graduate Assistant at the WLA and is in the first year of her M.A in Public History at Loyola University Chicago. Before moving to Chicago, Ellen was a Kindergarten teacher in Louisiana. She enjoys brunch, procedural dramas, and pugs.


Loyola University Chicago’s Women and Leadership Archives Blog is designed to provide a positive environment for the Loyola community to discuss important issues and ideas. Differences of opinion are encouraged. We invite comments in response to posts and ask that you write in a civil and respectful manner. All comments will be screened for tone and content and must include the first and last name of the author and a valid email address. The appearance of comments on the blog does not imply the University’s endorsement or acceptance of views expressed.


Collections Highlight: Feminist Forum

The values of the Feminist Forum are clearly laid out in its original constitution.  One of the most important of which was a commitment to nondiscrimination.

The values of the Feminist Forum are clearly laid out in its original constitution. One of the most important of which was a commitment to nondiscrimination.

The Feminist Forum is a student organization at Loyola University Chicago which seeks to provide students with a supportive, safe, and open environment to discuss feminist issues.  Founded in 1995 through the Women’s Studies and Gender Studies Program, the first meeting was held on September 19, 1995 on the Lakeshore campus.  Phoebe Stein, a graduate student, served as leader for the night, and over 20 undergraduate students attended.  A pro-active organization, the Feminist Forum sought to bring speakers and hold events to raise awareness of the challenges in many women’s lives such as sexual violence, HIV and AIDS, discrimination, sexual harassment and awareness of systems of patriarchy.

Take Back the Night Flyer, 1998

Take Back the Night Flyer, 1998

In September, the Feminist Forum will celebrate its twentieth anniversary; in these years of existence, the Feminist Forum has facilitated memorable events that highlight the dedication of the Loyola students and faculty who adamantly believe in gender equality.  The Take Back the Night (also known as Reclaim the Night) March became an important tradition that the Feminist Forum coordinated on Loyola’s campus.  First held in Belgium in 1976, this internationally held march is intended as a protest against rape and other forms of sexual violence.

In 2000, the Feminist Forum coordinated with several other student organizations to organize ten days of events for Take Back the Night, culminating with the march, to increase awareness of sexual assault and rape on campus.  The hope was to improve the services for victims of sexual assault provided by the University.

Members of the Feminist Forum with Gloria Steinum

Members of the Feminist Forum with Gloria Steinem, 1999.

Gloria Steinem, the famed leader of the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s and 70s, was invited by the Feminist Forum to speak at Loyola in 1999.  Steinem’s talk, however, proved to be a hot-button issue on campus.  An article in the Loyola Phoenix reported that “approximately 15 Loyola students and members of the Pro-Life Action League protested Steinem’s speech” by holding placards showing graphic pictures of aborted fetuses.

In 2002, the Feminist Forum facilitated a production of the Vagina Monologues at Loyola. The purpose of the monologues, which have been widely performed since debuting in 1996, is to focus on the feminine experience with topics such as sex, menstruation, rape, and genital mutilation discussed.

Va

Ticket for the Loyola University Chicago production of the Vagina Monologues, 2002.

The Feminist Forum Records at the Women and Leadership Archives consists of 0.25 linear feet of material and document the organization from 1995-2002.  Related collections at the Women and Leadership Archives include the Women’s Studies Program Records which documents the Women’s Studies Program at Loyola University Chicago from 1977-2009.

Original research for this post was done by WLA intern Sebastian during the Fall of 2012.


Loyola University Chicago’s Women and Leadership Archives Blog is designed to provide a positive environment for the Loyola community to discuss important issues and ideas. Differences of opinion are encouraged. We invite comments in response to posts and ask that you write in a civil and respectful manner. All comments will be screened for tone and content and must include the first and last name of the author and a valid email address. The appearance of comments on the blog does not imply the University’s endorsement or acceptance of views expressed.